Ebb and Flow 2: Civil War Edition
by InnitMarvelous
Summary: What happened to Rhodey at the German airport reunites Tony and Pepper at a time when they're perhaps not ready to be reunited yet. Belated entry for Pepperony Week 2017 prompt: Post Civil War; VERY MILD spoilers for Spider-man Homecoming in last chapter!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** I began this shortly at seeing _Captain America: Civil War_ and it mostly sat on my computer incomplete because until I saw Spider-man: HomecomingI didn't have a clue how to finish it. Thanks to that movie I found my ending!

 **Mild spoilers** for Spider-man: Homecoming, but nothing too bad aka it's nothing most Pepperony lovers don't already know!

* * *

Pepper was in Tokyo when she received the call she'd been dreading but knew she'd would undoubtedly get once Tony had stepped back into the superhero arena. She had just laid her tired body down in bed, ready to put an end to a day that had seemed to go on forever only to hear her cell begin vibrating a split second before the ringtone chimed.

She held her breath then sighed with that it wasn't Tony's ringtone, relief that was immediately followed by guilt because she knew she was being unfair to him by feeling that way. Ever since she'd talked to him, told him that she needed some time away to think about them, he had been respectful enough to let her go but more than that he had not tried to contact her.

Not even once.

But the worst part about it was how she could still remember the hurt in his eyes the moment she had told him that she wasn't sure them being together worked anymore. She loved him, yes, and she knew that he loved her but love wasn't always enough - especially when the man in question was Tony Stark!

By the phone's impatient third ring, the tone had shifted over to one she recognized as belonging to Maria Hill. But why was Maria calling at this time of night, especially since she knew very well that Pepper was away in Asia?

"Well, there's only _one_ way to find out _why_ she's calling you, Potts," Pepper muttered, picking the phone up. She took a deep breath, and pressed the talk button, "Hello? Maria?"

"Yes hello, Pepper. I know it's the middle of the night where you are but something has happened that you need to know about."

Pepper's throat was tight with fear, and she had to force herself to ask, "What?"

 _Oh please don't let Tony be hurt or dead. Please just don't._

"First of all, there was a fight that involved all of the Avengers, including Tony. His current status is that he is alive and he is as well as can be expected right now with everything that has transpired over the last several days. He's a little banged up but it's nothing too serious."

Pepper breathed out in relief, and then asked, "But there is something wrong?"

"Yes," Hill sighed audibly on the phone, "During the fight, Colonel Rhodes… Rhodey was hit by friendly fire while he was flying pretty high in the air. The hit knocked out his suit's flight ability." She paused again, and then said, "Pepper, he hit the ground before Tony or anyone else could manage to reach him."

Tears welled up in her eyes, and with a gasp, Pepper forced out the question, "Is… is he dead?"

"No, he's alive."

"Thank God."

"Yeah," the other woman agreed, "He's alive but I'm afraid he's not uninjured."

Pepper closed her eyes, "How bad is it, Maria?"

The former SHIELD commander sighed, "The doctors are still determining to what extent of how serious it is but they think that there is a very high chance that he will have some paralysis. But to what degree they're not yet sure of…"

Soon after ending the call with Maria, Pepper woke up her assistant and told her to make travel arrangements back to the United States. Whether they were on break or not, Pepper knew she needed to be by Tony's side as soon as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

He heard the door open and someone come in, closing the door to the observation room behind them. Tony felt his irritation grow when he looked into the glass, and saw who it was, "You know, Red, I said that I prefer to be left alone right now."

"You don't even want to see me?" a voice that was not the Russian's quietly asked.

As whose voice it was sunk it, Tony spun around so quickly that he almost gave himself whiplash. His eyes widened as he stared at the vision of loveliness before him, almost not believing that she was actually standing there after she had been living on the other side of the world for so many weeks now.

"Pepper?"

When he uttered her name his voice was thick from the worry he felt for his friend lying unconscious in the other room and from the fear that she was actually an illusion brought on by his need, his _desire_ to see her right now. He suddenly turned away from her, convinced that he had somehow induced her appearance here.

"No, you're not here. You are _not_ here! It's just wishful thinking on my part! You're not here!" he muttered.

When he turned away from Pepper's eyes widened with a hurt surprise. Then fear quickly replaced those feelings when he began muttering about her not actually there. Fear remained and the hurt returned because maybe he really believed that she no longer wanted to see him, and therefore couldn't possibly be here now?

She walked softly up behind him, and carefully touched his shoulder. "Tony, it's me. I'm really here."

Tony tightly closed his eyes, continuing to mutter that she wasn't there. His resistance lasted for all of three seconds before he turned around and wrapped his good arm around as tightly as he possibly could. Burying his face into her neck, he murmured in her ear, "I've missed you, Pepper. Oh, _how_ I've missed you!"

Pepper suppressed a sigh, and raised her arms to hug him in return.

It took a few moments for the stiffness of her body language to register, and when it did, Tony pulled away from her as a sudden realization hit him. His voice held a quiet, sad hurt as he murmured an apology, "Sorry, that was…. Malapropos since we're not really together like that anymore." He turned back to the observation window.

"Tony, I-"

"No, you don't have to apologize, Pepper. You're here for Rhodey… because he got hurt, and not for me. I get that. I mean why shouldn't you come since you're friends with him too?"

"Tony-"

"It's okay, Pepper," He gave a quick look in her direction, then looked away, "I get why you're here. You don't have to explain it."

Her heart clenched at the quiet, sad acceptance in his voice. Raising her hand, she hesitated then she gently stroked the side of his face.

At first Tony leaned into her caress, but then he jerk back and as if he had suddenly realized what he was doing. "Don't, please just don't."

There was no small amount of hurt for her when he had immediately pulled away from her as though she had burned him, and Pepper blinked away tears, "Don't what?"

"Don't try to give me comfort… or… make me feel better," he replied, "We're… we're not together anymore."

"But I came for you too."

Tony looked at her, "You what...what did you say?"

"I said I came for you too."

"But why?"

"Because I still _care_ about you, Tony."

"Hmm, yeah. Right."

Pepper was only one of the few people in the world who knew better than to dismiss his casual sounding tone and words as being just that, casual. She was also one of the few people who could see the underlying hurt in his body language. It was the advantage of having had known, worked, and loved him for so long.

She sighed, and said, "Just because things didn't work out between us, doesn't mean that I stopped lov... caring about you altogether." She held her breath as soon as she finished speaking, hoping that he hadn't heard her near slip-up.

"I think the fact that you've been avoiding me since we broke up says otherwise!"

 _Good, he didn't hear my almost slipup_ , she thought before she said aloud, "I'm not…avoiding you. I just think some time apart would do us both some good. I thought maybe it'd help us both to get some perspective."

Tony turned his back to her again, "Oh, I got some perspective alright. After we ended I realized that a big mistake had been made."

Pepper stared at his back, blinking away tears as the words and hurt absorbed their way into her head. She hoped that she had misheard him, and so she asked, "W-what did you say?"

"I said I realized that a big mistake has been made," he repeated.

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said."

The hurt in her voice cut through the cloud of his own, and when he turned around sharply to look at her, he saw her surreptitiously wipe away a tear. "Oh Pepper, please don't cry."

Her face screwed in anger, and she crossed her arms, "My ex-boyfriend just told me that we… he made a mistake with our relationship. Tell me _why_ I shouldn't be angry, Tony?" Or hurt?

"Because what I said...it doesn't mean what you think it means."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I...what I meant was… You know what? It's not really that important. All you need to know, Pepper, is that I didn't mean what I said the way you took it." He turned away from her again.

"No Tony, I want to know what you meant with what you said and if you don't tell me I'm going to go away from this believing that you thought that we were a mistake. Is that what you want me to believe?" He didn't reply to her and stood so stock still that Pepper was sure she had her answer, and she turned to leave the room.

"No," Tony said quietly, almost at the moment her hand touched the doorknob, "It's not what I want you to believe, Pepper, because it's not the truth."

She turned back around to see him still standing with his back to her. Taking a deep breath she hesitated then walked over to stand beside him at the observation window, asking quietly, "Then what is the truth, Tony? Will you tell me, _please_? Because I'd _really_ like to know what you meant when you said you realized that a big mistake had been made."

He sighed loudly when he realized that she wasn't going to let this go. He was aware that she was standing right beside him, but he kept his eyes forward on his friend in the next room. He couldn't say what he needed to say while looking at her at the same time, and taking one last breath he began,

"What I meant when I said that a big mistake made I was referring to me, not you. I'm the one who made the big mistake by thinking that I could be with you. I mean I really don't deserve you, Pepper, and I never will. Killian might have been a raging madman by he got it one hundred percent right when he told me that I don't deserve you because I really _don't_."

Pepper stared at him, stunned at what she had just heard. She wasn't sure what she had expected him to say, but what he had actually said wasn't it and while she tried to think of how to respond, she heard him say something else.

"You know you wising up and ending it when you did is probably a good thing… for you I mean since everything I touch turns to ashes." He laughed mirthlessly, "You would have gotten burned sooner or later.. and with my track record. And it would have been sooner too, especially after we got lucky with dodging it with the whole Killian thing."

"Oh Tony, you know that's not true!" She rested a hand on his shoulder, quickly drawing it back when she heard him take in a sharp, hissing breath. "Tony?"

"I'm okay," he replied while he favored the shoulder.

Although she could see a sheen of sweat on his face, Pepper decided to let go of the fact that he was hurt and hadn't sought medical attention for it just for the moment, "What you said about everything you touch turning to ashes simply is not true because if it was, Stark Industries would have tanked a long time ago."

"The fact that it's still around doesn't prove a thing, Pep, since I hardly been actually involved with running the company after I inherited it."

"But you were still involved in some major decisions that have been good for Stark Industries."

"Yeah, like appointing you as CEO, which is probably the smartest thing I've ever done business wise," Tony pauses for a few seconds when Pepper smiles at him, "But that still doesn't take away from the fact I'm a toxic, walking disaster! No, as much as I… miss you, and will _always_ love you, but you know it's a good thing that you got out before you ended up like _he_ did." He turned his eyes back to the other room.

Pepper watches him for a second before she looks away. She doesn't look into Rhodey's room though, but instead stares at the nearby wall. She doesn't speak for some time, thinking about what he's said, and the pain - not just the physical pain - that she's seen in his eyes. Tears well up in her eyes and finally overflow as she feels a hurting sadness. She sighs as she says, "I'm sorry because I made a mistake too...not when I left because it was something I _had_ to do, and I hate that too."

"So, what was the mistake you made then?"


	3. Chapter 3

_They stayed that way for awhile and were quiet for the next few minutes until Tony asked, "What's the other part to your reason for… leaving?_ "

She hesitated for a moment, considering whether or not she should actually tell him, but then Pepper decided maybe it was time that he knows the real reason why instead of what she had said the day she left. She pulled back but kept her arms around him as she answered, "The other reason… the main reason that I left is the self-destruction."

"The what?"

Dropping her arms, Pepper moved away, "I said the reason I left is your self-destruction."

A look of confusion crossed Tony's face, and he began favoring his injured arm again as he said, "I'm not sure I follow you since I've always been a bit reckless."

"A bit?"

"Okay, a lot," he admits with a one shoulder shrug, "But my point is, recklessness has always been a part of who I am and I think you've known that fact about me since the first day you started working for me."

She nods, "Yeah, I have known that about you since the first day-"

"So why did it become such a big problem that you needed to leave? Because I thought that we were good together."

"Because," she sighs, "The recklessness isn't just about being recklessness anymore. After Sokovia… after Ultron...your recklessness...it amplified until it became self-destruction." She sighed again then reached out to touch his cheek, smiling sadly, "Actually we were more than just good together. We were... we were..."

"Amazing," Tony stated, finishing the thought for her.

The tear trailing down her face might have been the only answer he needed and the only one she was capable of giving. But they never knew exactly what may have happened beyond that moment since the door to the room they were standing in opened.

A man in a white lab coat, presumably Rhodey's doctor, stepped into the room, "Mr. Stark?"

Tony swallowed down the snappy retort he wanted to make following the man's interruption and turned around. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pepper wiped the tear off her face, and he forced himself to put them aside before he said, "Yes?"

"I'm Doctor Tanner. I have the results for Colonel Rhodes's test," he said, looking at Pepper. Rhodey had given Tony power of attorney in affairs that concerned him- medical included.

She quickly realized why he was looking at her, "Oh, I'll just step outside so you can discuss-"

"No, you can stay."

"Tony, I don't think I can."

"Yes, you can."

The doctor is shaking his head, "No, I'm sorry but she can't stay. I can't discuss private medical details with anyone that Colonel Rhodes hasn't authorized. I'm sorry, ma'am."

"It's okay, Doctor. I understand," Pepper said, and starts to leave again.

Tony grabs her wrist, and she immediately tugs on it.

"Let go please."

"No, you're staying."

"No, I'm not. You heard Doctor Tanner. He can't discuss Rhodey's medical condition with me here. I'm not authorized to hear it."

"Oh, but you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are." He looked at the doctor, "Please check your medical files again, Doctor, and I believe you'll find that one Miss Virginia Potts was... is authorized by Colonel Rhodes to be present when his medical details are discussed."

As the doctor's eyes skimmed the pages of the file in his hand searching for her name, Pepper murmured, "Tony, it's okay. Really. I'll probably hear about how he is at some point in the near future. But it's okay if it's not right now. I can wait." She starts to leave again but is stopped when Tony takes a light hold of her arm. "Tony-"

"You're in there somewhere, Pep. Just trust me on this huh? He's going to find it."

Pepper considered arguing the point that no the doctor wasn't going to find it because why in the world would Rhodey have put it there to be begin with, but she decided against it. Things would be settled soon enough when the doctor informed them that he couldn't find it and she could be on her way out of the room at last.

The doctor flipped to a page she was certain he had checked at least twice before, and looked up at them, "Well, it appears that Mr. Stark is correct. Colonel Rhodes _did_ sign a consent stating that you are allowed to be present whenever his medical matters are discussed."

Tony gestured, and said, "Then by all means, Doctor, discuss away."

They had to wait a few more moments while Rhodey's doctor went through the notes, and while they did, Pepper watched Tony surreptitiously from the corner of her eye. She really had expected him to rub it in with the doctor over the fact he'd been right about her being authorized to hear the details of Rhodey's medical matters. Instead, he had said what he had said, and was now standing impatiently but _quietly_ to hear how serious his best friend's condition was.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, how you guys doing? I heard the new right as I was leaving thera…" Rhodey's voice trailed off as he entered the private hospital room, and neither one of his friend's looked over at him.

Pepper was sitting propped up in bed with a small, pink bundle cradled in her arms while Tony was over by the window holding a small, blue bundle held close close to his chest.

He stared at them both, since he had never seen them such enraptured expressions on their faces, especially Tony's. His best friend was so lost into the little face he was looking into that Rhodey decide that he could try again later, and had staring backing out of the room.

He would have made it too if it a certain web slinging, criminal catching who had just turned seventeen about three point five months ago, hadn't decided at that moment to enter Pepper's room carrying a teddy bear in his arms that was so large it blocked most of his frontal view. Rhodey, who was still a bit unsteady on his legs, especially after he had just finished one of Strange's ordered physical therapy sessions. The result was both of them falling backwards onto the floor into a pile of tangled limbs and some swearing.

The sound of his best friend's voice spouting out some very choice words is what finally snapped Tony out of his reverie, and back to reality. Pepper seemed to take a little longer to realize what was going on so by the time she looked up, Tony was already at her side to place their now crying son into her arms, which resulted in her trying to hush to upset babies while their Daddy went to check up on their Uncle.

Rhodey looked up as a shadow appeared over him. "Are you okay, platypus?"

"Yeah luckily I had a-" he stopped to see what it was that made him lose his footing and stopped him from hitting the floor, "giant teddy bear to break my fall. Huh."

Tony looked down at the object in question, observing, "And unless the bear has four arms and two legs then-"

About that time they both heard a voice from underneath the stuffed animal say, "Uh, I'm under here. Can someone please let me up out from here? 'Cause I totally can't breathe under here!"

"That sounds like-"

"Uh huh, and since I really don't want May to kill me let's get you up off of him!" Tony said, offering his hand again.

"Right." Rhodey took his hand this time, and with the help, managed to get back to his feet.

Tony took a moment to make sure he had his balance before reaching down to move the teddy. He rolled his eyes as the teen formerly beneath sucked in a super dramatic breath, and then exchanged an amused look with Rhodey.

"Are you okay, kid?" the latter asked.

Peter nodded, continuing to breath in rather dramatically, "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay. Whew!" He finally sat up, and then looked up at them, "Umm sorry about making you fall, Mr. Rhodes. That was my bad."

Rhodey shook it off, "It's okay. No harm done."

"Well, it's just that I know you got hurt kinda bad in Berlin and-"

"So," Tony said, cutting him off as he walked back over to the bed where his wife was still trying to shush their babies, "What the heck are you doing here, Underoos?"

Peter groaned at the nickname but he didn't get a chance to answer before another question came flying his way.

"Wait, does the media know about these two guys?" Tony asked before taking his daughter into his arms.

"Honestly I don't know. I haven't watched any TV or the news today."

"Then how did you hear about this?"

"Uh..."

"I heard it from Happy," Rhodey immediately supplied.

"Well, Itsy Bitsy? Did Happy tell you too?"

"No, Mr. Stark."

"Then how-"

"Vision told me."

"Vision?"

The teen nodded, "Yeah, when I called the Avengers compound. I needed to talk to you about something and-"

"Did you tell anybody else?"

"I uh..."

"You _did_ , didn't you." It really wasn't a question, and when Peter gulped he got a glare which was followed by, "Who? Who did you tell?"

"I might've mentioned it to my Aunt."

"Okay, I know how she feels about me but I don't think she'd pass the news along to the press, would she?"

"No, she wouldn't do that to you or Mrs. Stark!" the boy replied before he looked over at the bed, and waved, "Hi, by the way."

Pepper smiled, "Hi."

"So, does anyone else know?"

Peter nodded, "Yeah ImightvekindamnetioneditaroundmybestfriendNed."

It took a moment for Tony to break that down in his head, "You might've mentioned it to your best friend Ned?"

"Yeah."

Just as they were all wondering how big of a mouth Ned might have Peter continued, "But don't worry. Ned's not gonna tell anyone like reporters."

"I hope not for your sake, web-head, or-"

The boy had just gulped when Pepper interrupted, "Well, it's not like we can keep the press from knowing about this forever anyway, Tony."

Tony finally stopped glaring at protege slash intern, and back to his wife, "I know they'll find eventually but being able to get the rugrats home without them having a clue for like a day would kinda be nice."

"Says the man who popped the question in a roomful of reporters," Rhodey said under his breath.

"Not helping, platypus!"

Pepper rolled her eyes at their antics and looked at the stressed out, almost adult in the room, "It's okay, Peter. Don't worry about it. If you say your friend is trustworthy enough to keep this quiet, then we believe you. Because if somehow your friend lets the twins' arrival slip, well we'll just deal with the media as best we can."

Peter breathed out in relief, "Thank you, Mrs. Stark."

"Now that's settled, I'd like to be introduced to my godchildren before they're Parker's age if you don't mind."

Tony gave him puzzled look, and then while looking at Pepper said, "Godchildren? Who said anything about you being their godfather?"

Shaking her head, Pepper said, "Oh just ignore him, James. Of course, we're going to ask you to be their godfather!"

Rhodey smirked at his best friend.

"Now, come over here and meet your godson." She had to bit her lip to keep from bursting out in laughter when Rhodey strode over to the bed imitating a vain peacock as much as his condition allowed. She was unable to totally keep the mirth out of her voice as she asked, "Are you ready?"

"I think it's a good idea if I sit down before I take him."

"There's a chair behind you."

"Thanks." He pulled it closer to the bed, and sat down, "Okay, now I'm ready to meet the little guy."

With a smile, Pepper gently as she could passed her son over to waiting arms of his godfather. Once he was settled comfortably, she looked up towards the room's other occupant, After she noted the huge teddy had been wrested into the room and set against a wall, gestured, "You too, Peter."

The teen pointed to himself as if to ask, "Me?"

"Yes, come here. I want you to meet them too."

Peter scooted over to Tony's side.

There was a moment of silence in the room, then Pepper said, "Tony?"

He gave her a _what_ look, and then remembered what it was she wanted. He took in a deep breath, and turned to Peter, "Would you like to hold her, flytrap?"

"W-what?"

Tony had his mouth open to probably repeat the question, but his wife beat him to it, "Tony asked if you'd like to hold her?"

"I uh..."

"Have you ever held a baby before, webster?"

The teen shook his head, "No, not really. I mean since I don't have any brothers or sister or little cousins, it kind comes with the territory. Ned's mom did almost ask-"

"Okay, okay, I think we got the idea. It wasn't an essay question!" his mentor interrupted with an amused smile before turning semi serious, "Would you like to hold her?"

"I guess?"

"Peter," Pepper said,drawing his attention, "If you don't want to, you don't have to. It's okay if you don't."

"I'm... I'm just scared I might drop her."

"You're not gonna drop her if you hold her. Do you want to?"

"Yeah, I guess I can try."

"Do or do not, there is no try," Rhodey added in a good imitation of a certain green, lightsaber wielding Jedi Master.

Peter swallowed, took a breath, and said, "Okay, yeah, I'd like to hold her. How do I do it?"

"Okay, you see how my arms are? Move the blanket if you can't."

The teen did as Tony said, and moved the blanket so he could see. He then moved his arms until they were in the same position Tony had his, "Like this?"

"Yep, like that. Now, I'm going to move her over to your arms. Don't freak out or make any sudden movements. It's not because I think you're gonna drop her but I'm gonna keep my arms in place until we're both sure you've got her. Ready?"

The kid swallowed again, "Yeah."

With gentle care, Tony transferred his now sleeping daughter over into the teenager's arms. As promised he kept his own arms underneath her until he was sure Peter had her, and then he pulled back.

"Oh my gosh, Mr. Stark! She's so pretty!"

Pepper smiled, reaching out to take her husband's hand before she answered for both of them, "Thank you, Peter."

"So," Rhodey began, "I've been sitting here for twenty minutes holding my godson while you've been helping Peter here find his nerve, and I _still_ don't know what this little guy or his sister's names are yet. I'd really love to know what to call these two future troublemakers, so can you please spill now?"

Pepper looked at Tony, who nodded. She turned back to Rhodey, "James Rhodes and Peter Parker, I'd like you both to meet Jonathan Howard Stark."

Their friend looked down at the baby, and smiled, "Hello, Jonathan, welcome to the world. Let's hope you're not too much like your Dad. Hmm?"

"Hey!" Tony huffed.

"Well, the world can't handle another Tony Stark."

"You know I'm starting to rethink the godfather title."

Pepper giggled, and said, "Don't worry, James. He doesn't really mean it."

"Sure I do."

"So, who is this pretty little lady?" Peter asked tactfully, having been around the two men enough to know they were about to start a bout of non serious bickering.

"This isn't finished yet, Rhodes!"

"Oh, I'm shaking in my shoes, Stark!"

"You should be!"

"Guys," Pepper said, rolling her eyes.

After shaking his finger at Rhodey again, Tony looked at Peter, and cleared his throat, "Peter Parker and James Rhodes, I want you to both meet Olivia Maria Stark."

Peter really was enchanted with the baby girl he was holding. So much so that he didn't say anything, and the enchantment had only grown since the baby had woken up and had wrapped her little hand around his finger.

"Congratulations, you two! They're beautiful," Rhodey said, looking down at the twins' faces, _And completely worth everything that's happened before now_ , he thought but didn't say aloud because he doesn't want to see guilt replace the euphoric expression on Tony's face.

 _How strange,_ he continues to think, _that me getting paralyzed from friendly fire maybe the biggest reason why my new niece and nephew have made their way into the world today._

Because it was only after he'd been hurt and unable to walk that they'd began reconciling, with each other. He could still remember waking up in his hospital room and hearing their voices murmuring in quiet conversation.

And as little Jonathan begins to cry because it's his feeding time, Rhodey decides that if he could go back to stop things from happening the way they happened, he wouldn't.

His family was healing, and he was healing, and it that healing had been worth it all.

* * *

 **Author's end note:** Yes, Rhodey is walking again courtesy somewhat of Doctor Strange.

And no I don't know if it was strictly by magic he helped Rhodey or not. The fact there's physical therapy involved says to me that perhaps some conventional medicine was involved. But the point is, Rhodey's up and walking :)


End file.
